Writer-director Edgar Wright‘s latest film, the documentary The Sparks Brothers, is in theaters through Focus Features from June 18. Wright first made his mark in the late 1990s with the British TV comedy series Spaced, written by Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg, and starring Hynes, Pegg and Nick Frost. Wright reteamed with Pegg and Frost on his 2004 breakthrough feature, the international smash hit zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead, and also on the two subsequent parts of the “Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy,” Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013), both of which were also big hits. Wright co-wrote and directed the star-studded Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and wrote and directed the 2017 critical and commercial hit, Baby Driver, an action thriller starring Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx. He lives in Los Angeles. (Photo by Adrienne Pitts.)
On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, director Edgar Wright chats with musicians Ron and Russell Mael of the beloved cult band Sparks, who are the subject of Wright’s deeply enjoyable new documentary, The Sparks Brothers. In a wide-ranging conversation, the friends and collaborators veer from gripping discussions about food to in-depth explorations of the Mael brothers’ longstanding love of their other creative passion, cinema, which finally resulted in Leos Carax directing their film Annette – which opens the Cannes Film Festival next month! They also discuss record-store hijinks, the genesis of past projects, compare notes on trailers, and much, much more. A veritable smorgasbord of an episode, it’s a real pleasure to listen to three people who so obviously relish each others company. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.
This episode was produced by Melissa Kaplan. The Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range.
(Photo courtesy Focus Features, edited by Keenan Kush.)
